An unexpected use for cake mix – cupcake streusel

Last spring, I baked a wedding cake for two good friends. Before choosing a flavor, I did a taste test for them so they could try all the cream, filling and cake elements they could choose from: white chocolate Swiss butterbitter sweet chocolate ganachedreamy, cloud-like whipped toffee diplomat creamand much more.

“Okay, but what are they?” THESE?” asked the groom and took a big bite of cake.

Of all of them, the one that stood out the most was the chocolate “cake streusel” that I had sprinkled on top of the cake for extra crunch and flavor.

It's a technique I got from Christina Tosi's startup All About Cake years ago and have been using it in my cakes ever since. It's simple: Just mix boxed cake mix with melted butter until clumps form, like making streusel, then bake the crumbs until crispy.

By combining the melted butter and the yolk cake, mix in a bowl to form soft crumbs — Mix in the melted butter and the cake mix to form a crumb.

Parchment-lined cookie sheet — Then spread it on a baking sheet and bake until crispy.

Christina uses this method specifically for yellow cake crumbs, but I've used it with cake mixes of all flavors: vanilla, chocolate, red velvet, and more. our Simple sweet chocolate mix AND Golden Yellow Cake Mix are both perfect for this – after testing a few different brands, I found that these mixes taste the best because of their clean and simple ingredient list (basically just flour, sugar, baking powder, etc.) , which translates to better tasting streusel. The chocolate cake mix has a deep, dark chocolate flavor that tastes almost like a pan of rich, gooey brownies. The yellow cake, meanwhile, has ample vanilla notes and a hint of almond extract, so the crumb tastes unmistakably like a classic birthday cake. Combined with melted butter, the crumbs create a sugary, buttery bite with a concentrated cake flavor. And bonus: This method also works well with ours gluten free cake mix.

I love using streusel for cake for two reasons. For one, it's a great way to add an extra textural dimension to cakes, providing a crunch to contrast with all the soft, creamy elements. To top it off, you can sprinkle the streusel toppings on top of the toppings between the cake layers, where they may soften a little but still retain their nice texture. Also, it's a super easy way to decorate the top of a frosted cake without a lot of time, precision or skill required – I just sprinkle the streusel in a ring around the top of the cake.

Cake decorated with cake crumbs — An easy way to decorate your cakes!

How to make streusel for cupcakes

Combine 2 cups (290 g) cake mix with 4 to 6 tablespoons (60 to 90 g) melted butter. Mix by hand to form soft crumbs (similar to making streusel). Start with the lowest amount of butter and add more as needed to form lumps no larger than the size of almonds. Note: This method is quite flexible; you can usually add melted butter to any amount of cake mix a tablespoon at a time until clumps form.

Spread the crumb mixture in an even layer over a baking sheet lined with parchmentand bake at 300°F for 15 to 20 minutes, until mostly crisp. The crumbles will continue to firm up as they cool, so it's okay if they're still a little soft when you remove them from the oven.

As a bonus, cake streusel freezes beautifully, so you can make a big batch and keep it in the fridge to pull out whenever you need to fill or decorate a cake. These fresh crumbs would also be wonderful sprinkled on other desserts: ice cream, chocolate puddingor even a frosted cream pie. But be warned: A handful of crunchy treats straight from the freezer is also an irresistible snack, something I learned the hard way.

Thankfully, it's always easy to do more.

Get a box of cake mix for your next party, whether you're making cake, streusel cake, or both.